Fighting Cancer with CW Shear-Wave Elastography
Master's thesis and projects
The Department of circulation and medical imaging offers projects and master's thesis topics for technology students of most of the different technical study programmes at NTNU. There is a seperate page for the supplementary specialisation courses.
List of topics
Topics for thesis and projects are given below. Most of the topics can be adjusted to the students qualifications and wishes.
Don't hesitate to take contact with the corresponding supervisor - we're looking forward to a discussion with you!
Fighting Cancer with CW Shear-Wave Elastography
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women worldwide, with nearly 1.7 million new cases diagnosed in 2012 (second most common cancer overall). This represents about 12% of all new cancer cases and 25% of all cancers in women. Early detection remains the cornerstone of breast cancer control. The majority of deaths (269 000) occur in low- and middle-income countries, where most women with breast cancer are diagnosed in late stages.
Ultrasound is used as the first screening test for breast cancer. However, in early stages, tumorous masses are difficult to detect due to lack of contrast. Ultrasonic elastography brings a new dimension into cancer detection by imaging the tissue stiffness rather than its reflectivity. New techniques have been recently proposed using CW vibration fields. Here at ISB we are developing a technique that can potentially increase the resolution and accuracy of stiffness maps. We utilize high frequency acoustic fields (1 to 5 kHz) and a detection technique based on the k-space transform. Fig.1 shows a numerical simulation of the estimated shear-wave velocity map when an acoustic vibration field of 2500 Hz is used.
Figure 1b. Estimated shear wave velocity map.
Figure 1a. Detected velocity field.Video:
Aim:
We would like to develop this technique further by
- Developing a 2 kHz shear wave acoustic vibrator, and
- using 3D ultrasound to image the shear-wave vibration field.
Profile:
We look for someone that:
- likes experimental work and developing technology,
- would like to get hands on scientific procedures, and
- (may be) get her/his name on a paper.
Requirements:
- Background in signal processing or electronics is desirable.
Contact:
Alfonso Rodriguez-Molares Ph.D., Senior Engineer
Sebastien Salles Ph.D., Postdoc